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The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong

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The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong pays homage to Shanghai’s former Art Deco glory by putting a modern bent on it — as spots on the cutting-edge Pudong side of town are known to do.

Rooms come with beautiful cream-and-latte marble bathrooms filled with gold accents along with gorgeous views of the Bund and the city.

But for the best vista, don’t miss Flair, the hotel’s red-hot rooftop bar, where locals mingle with guests on the expansive terrace. Though, you’ll also want to pencil in visits to the Five-Star Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong Spa for some pampering and Jin Xuan for authentic Cantonese fare.

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Our Inspector's Highlights

Label-loving ladies and lads will love that the luxury hotel has its own entrance to the adjacent Shanghai ifc mall, a six-story center filled with haute shops like Badgley Mischka and Gucci.

Shanghai’s young and hip pack Flair for the staggering views of the Bund and the Pudong skyline from the fabulous 58th-floor terrace.

The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong Spa by ESPA is immaculate and imminently relaxing. Its location on the 55th floor makes it an excellent vantage point, especially since every treatment room in the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star spa comes with big-picture windows.

Despite being popular with business travelers, the luxury hotel is family-friendly, offering a kids menu at Italian restaurant Scena and a big pool that’s just under five feet deep. But the best parental perk by far is the free babysitting services.

The hotel’s lounge on the Club Level floor is open 24 hours a day and offers free-flowing drinks and food service fives times a day.

Things to Know

Given notice, the Shanghai hotel can arrange English- and Chinese-speaking babysitters — for free. While you can’t plop your kids with the sitters all day, it’s the perfect escape plan for an adults-only night at Flair.

The gym at the Shanghai hotel is open 24 hours a day and is often empty. So you can work out whenever you please, with plenty of room to spread out.

The luxury hotel’s occupancy and rates are at their highest when Shanghai’s weather is at its best during the spring. Come in February and you’ll pay less and won’t have to battle crowds at the major tourist sites.

Be sure to try the skewers alongside your cocktails at Flair, particularly the grilled scallops with sundried tomato sambal, as well as the pork massaman curry with sweet potato and roasted peanut.

The Rooms

The guest rooms at The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong capture Shanghai’s golden age (the 1920s and ’30s) by incorporating Art Deco décor with Singapore-based interior designer Richard Farnell’s own contemporary spin.

On the other side of the room, yellow padded armchairs are tucked under an oval brown glass desk, which is attached to a marble ledge.

Jet-lagged travelers looking to enjoy a good soak during their stay at the Shanghai hotel can sink into the freestanding copper bathtubs with white scalloped edges, a standout in the cream-and-tan marble bathrooms filled with gold accents.

The Restaurants

The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong has two in-house restaurants: Scena, where you can dig into hearty Italian food, and Jin Xuan, which serves traditional Cantonese cuisine.

Scena is the most family-friendly of the bunch. For breakfast, it offers a varied buffet where you can get anything from thick fried Hong Kong-style noodles and thinly wrapped watercress dumplings to eggs and croissants.

But for lunch and dinner, it’s all Italian. In addition to serving dishes like pan-fried scallops in blood orange jus with asparagus and an organic vegetable medley, it also has a kids menu featuring child-friendly portions.

For a more formal dining experience, go to Jin Xuan on the 53rd floor. When you sit down to the red-topped table, be sure to order the roasted duck, kiwi and green mango salad, or the deep-fried baby river shrimp.

Popular rooftop lounge Flair is all about the signature cocktails — try the Oriental Pearl, made with Chivas, raspberry puree, lemongrass and pineapple juice — amazing views and shareable Asian plates.

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